Monday, October 22, 2012

Bartimaeus Bar-Timaeus and the Joy of Faithful Disobedience

Bartimaeus Bar-Timaeus and
the Joy of Faithful Disobedience

The story of
Bartimaeus is incredibly intriguing on many levels. Below are my rough
translation and initial comments, with a just a few looks at how Mark uses some
particular words throughout his story. The most difficult discipline for me
with this text is to let it speak for itself before turning to Ched Myers’
insightful writing on Mark generally and on Bartimaeus as a key story in Mark
more specifically.

1. “the son of Timaeus blind beggar Bartimaeus” the bold words in this construction are
all nominative masculine singular.

2. “Bar-Timaeus”
means “son of Timaeus.” Explanations like this are why some folks speculate
that Mark is writing to a non-Hebrew-speaking audience.

3. One source,
which I only know from a quick visitation, posits that Timaeus could come from
one of two Aramaic sources, which would mean either “Honored one” or “Impure
one.” The source notes that Bartimaeus could then be understood as “Son of fame”
or “Son of shame. I realize that those are two very different options, but see
the comment of v.48, n.1 for a similar curious set of options regarding the ἐπιτιμάω,
which could be “honor” or “rebuke.” The source for the possible interpretations
of Timaeus is https://christhum.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/the-name-fame-and-shame-of-bartimaeus/.

3. The entrance and
exit from Jericho is a curious location reference. Does something about Jericho
make a difference to the story? Some comments below are helpful on this score.
The last time someone shouted outside of Jericho, the walls fell down.

ἐλέησόν:
AAImpv 2s, ἐλεέωto show mercy (more than have
compassion), to have the desire of relieving the miserable, to show kindness by
beneficence or help.

1. The verb “cry
out” (κράζω) is something of an onomatopoeia in Greek, like the croak of a
raven. I suppose it would be like the English word “squawk.” I wonder if it is
somehow related to κηρύσσω, “to preach.” It wouldn’t be the last time someone
likened preaching to squawking.

4. “that Jesus is
the Nazarene”: This could be translated “that it is (with the subject implied
by the 3rd person singular form of ‘is’) Jesus the Nazarene. Most
translations say Jesus of Nazareth, but Nazareth is in the nominative case, not
the genitive. I am going with “that Jesus is the Nazarene” because with the
verb ‘to be’ the object of the verb can be in the nominative case. If this is
correct, Bartimaeus’ insistence that Jesus is “Son of David” may be a protest
against what he has heard, that Jesus is “the Nazarene.”

5. The Son of
Timaeus cries out to the Son of David. Bartimaeus finds some kinship, so to
speak, with another one whose identity is partly defined by his lineage.

6. To “cry out” in
Mark’s gospel is to give voice to an extreme condition. Below are Mark’s uses
of the verb:

ἔκραζεν:
IAI 3s, κράζω, 1) to croak 1a) of the cry of a
raven 1b) hence, to cry out, cry aloud, vociferate 1c) to cry or
pray for vengeance 2) to cry 2a) cry out aloud, speak with a loud
voice

ἐλέησόν:
AAImpv 2s, ἐλεέωto show mercy (more than have
compassion), to have the desire of relieving the miserable, to show kindness by
beneficence or help.

1. One of the joys
of relying on Lexicons is that you get two possible meanings for ἐπιτιμάω: “To
show honor” or “To rebuke.” I’m tacking toward the latter, given how this verb
is used in Mark. However, the connection between the name Timaeus and
Bartimaeus and the root of this verb (ἐπι-τιμάω)
is intriguing.

2. First is the
anti-healing: The crowd was trying to make the blind man mute.

3. I suspect that
something is at stake in the crowd’s attempt to silence Bartimaeus – something
more than a sense of impropriety or decorum. After all, they are outside, not
in a cathedral somewhere and this is a rebuke, not a simple shushing.

4. If Bartimaeus
is proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of David, as opposed to having heard that
Jesus is the Nazarene, the crowd may be rebuking his theology as much as his
volume.

6. “Have mercy
(on) me” (here and in v.47): It looks like “mercy” (ἐλεέω) is a transitive verb in Greek, where this
could read “Mercy me,” not as a vocative cry (as when Marvin Gaye sings, “Ah,
mercy, mercy me”) but as an imperative, “Mercy me!” or perhaps “Pity me!”

7. The only other
use of ἐλεέωin Mark is in Jesus’ description of his exorcism of Legion
to the man who had been possessed afterwards (Mk.5:19)

49καὶστὰςὁἸησοῦςεἶπεν,Φωνήσατεαὐτόν.καὶ φωνοῦσιντὸντυφλὸνλέγοντες

αὐτῷ,Θάρσει,ἔγειρε,φωνεῖσε.

And having stopped Jesus said, “Call him.” And they call
the blind man while saying to him, “Take courage, rise, he is calling you.”

στὰς:
AAPart nsm, ἵστημι, 1) to cause or make to stand, to
place, put, set

εἶπεν:
AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

Φωνήσατε:
AAImpv 2p, φωνέω, 1) to sound, emit a sound, to speak
1a) of a cock: to crow 1b) of men: to cry, cry out, cry aloud,
speak with a loud voice

φωνοῦσιν:
PAI 3p, φωνέω, 1) to sound, emit a sound, to speak
1a) of a cock: to crow 1b) of men: to cry, cry out, cry aloud,
speak with a loud voice

λέγοντες:
PAPart npm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

Θάρσει:
PAImpv 2s, θαρσέω, 1) to be of good courage, be of
good cheer

ἔγειρε:
PAImpv 2s, ἐγείρω, 1) to arouse, cause to rise

φωνεῖ:
PAI 3s, φωνέω, 1) to sound, emit a sound, to speak
1a) of a cock: to crow 1b) of men: to cry, cry out, cry aloud,
speak with a loud voice

1. We don’t know
to whom Jesus is talking. His disciples are present (v.46), but “the crowd” is
already a player in the story. If it is the crowd, Jesus is countering their
‘rebuke’ by having them call him.One
supposes that Jesus could have called him himself, or gone to him.

2. “Take courage”:
This word is only in the imperative in the NT. It is what Jesus said when he
was walking on the sea and came near the frightened disciples in the boat
during a storm.

3. “They” called
and said “he” is calling: This is an interesting way of thinking about
evangelizing or sharing an invitation on someone else’s behalf. Is it their way
of identifying with Jesus’ call or distancing themselves from it?

4. The verb “call”
(φωνέω), as the definition suggests, might also be an onomatopoeia, suggesting
the sound of a rooster crowing. In all fairness, if we laugh when I suggest
that preaching may be akin to squawking (see v.47, n.1 above), we might as well
laugh that the crowd’s conveyance of Jesus’ message might be akin to crowing.

50 ὁδὲἀποβαλὼντὸἱμάτιοναὐτοῦ ἀναπηδήσαςἦλθενπρὸςτὸνἸησοῦν.

Then having thrown off his cloak having leaped up he
came to Jesus.

ἀποβαλὼν:
AAPart nsm, ἀποβάλλω, 1) to throw off, cast away

ἀναπηδήσας: AAPart nsm, ἀνα-πηδάω,to leap
up, spring up, start up:

ἦλθεν:
AAI 3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come 1a) of persons

1. The detail of
Bartimaeus having thrown off his cloak is curious. When I first posted this
translation and commentary, I confessed that I did not see the significance of
this detail. See below some very insightful responses that were generated as a
result. This is community interpretation at its best. Thanks to all of you and,
please, keep ‘em coming.

51 καὶἀποκριθεὶςαὐτῷὁἸησοῦςεἶπεν,Τίσοιθέλειςποιήσω; ὁδὲτυφλὸςεἶπεν

αὐτῷ,Ραββουνι,ἵναἀναβλέψω.

And answering him Jesus said, “What do you will to I
should do for you?” Then the blind said to him, “Rabbi, that I may see.”

ἀποκριθεὶς: APPart nsm, ἀποκρίνομαι, 1) to give an answer
to a question proposed, to answer

εἶπεν:
AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

θέλεις:
PAI 2s, θέλω, 1) to will, have in mind, intend
1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose

ποιήσω:
AASubj 1s, ποιέω, 1) to make 1a) with the names
of things made, to produce, construct, form, fashion, etc.

σέσωκέν:
PerfAI 3s, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to
rescue from danger or destruction 1a) one (from injury or peril)
1a1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from
disease, to make well, heal, restore to health

ἀνέβλεψεν: AAI 3s, ἀναβλέπω, 1) to look up 2) to
recover (lost) sight

ἠκολούθει:IAI 3s, ἀκολουθέω, 1) to follow one who precedes, join him as his
attendant, accompany him 2) to join one as a disciple, become or be
his disciple 2a) side with his party

1. Jesus often
uses the imperative “Go” (ὑπάγω), but the persons whom he commands do not
always comply. Neither does Bartimaeus. Jesus says “Go,” Bartimaeus follows.

2. The word for
“made whole” (σῴζω) is often translated “saved” but has a fuller meaning than
simply “saved from sin” or “saved from hell” as it is often used. It can refer
to healing.

12 comments:

I think throwing off the cloak is significant in that the cloak served as his only protection from the weather; it served as his sleeping bag. As a blind man he could not be assured that someone else would take is cloak, or that he would find it again. In other words, Bartimaeus makes himself vulnerable not only to the crowd's derision, but also to the weather.Slightly less possible: Jerico gave up its walls, Bartimaeus gave up his cloak.

I too am curious about the reference to Jericho. Should the audience have been Hebrew-speaking perhaps an allusion to the Hebrews emerging from 40 years in the wilderness into the promised land would have been assumed? (I believe it was near Jericho where this happened?).

On the other side perhaps the fact that Jericho is an ancient city, well known by most people, might give common ground to the listener.

I wonder if the answer to the significance of the cloak-tossing in 10.50 is to be found in the appearance of the same word in 11.8, where the crowd throw their garments on the road. This suggestion gains some pregnancy when we combine your observation of the likely importance of Bart's use of "Son of David" with the realization that "David" is next mentioned in that same crowd scene, so that the Bartimaeus scene foreshadows the entry scene on several points--and it is easy to imagine that Bartimaeus is among the crowd. (Submitted by William Robertson; some other commenter drew my attention to the two words; it's in my notes without attribution.)

I had read somewhere once (don't you love my reference skillz?) that Bartimeus' cloak was his livelihood. As a beggar, he spread it on the ground and people would toss stuff on it for him. At the end of the day, his "take" was on the cloak and that is how he survived.

Throwing away his cloak means he threw away his past life in response to what Jesus had done for him. I've always been impressed by that interpretation, because how many of us are willing to throw it away like that for Jesus' sake?

Wow, these are some fantastic comments. I've been wondering about the relationship between the Bart story and the next story, of the entry into Jerusalem. It's a nice connection between the cloak going off and the cloaks going down. I also hear the crowd - which once tried to shush Bart when he cried out "Son of David" now crying out "Son of David!" Is Bartemaeus leading the cheering crowd? That would be really cool. I've often heard commentators laud Bart for calling Jesus "Son of David," yet also hear others fault the crowd for using that "insufficient title." Is "Son of David" the right thing to call Jesus? Does it imply an imperial mentality, or a servant one? What a fantastic and fascinating text this is. Blessings on all of you as you make something preacheable out of it!

I found this quote in a "things to think about file" from earlier this year. Therefore, I can't cite the source, other than that it is from Ched Myers. "This blind beggar stands in piercing contrast tothe rich man and the disciples at every point. He is poor, landless, and disabled --a victim of the system, not its beneficiary. ... Yet Bartimaeus is willing to give upwhat little he has to achieve liberation; the beggar's cloak he casts off representsthe tool of his panhandler's trade"

I am interested in the name Son of Timaeus. In Palestine today when a man has his first-born son his name changes to: "Father of xx" We could presume another level of social heirarchy/shaming here because this grown man is still known as "son of Timeaus" instead of: "father of xx." I also love the comparison between the Rich man, and also between the other disciples who asked for high status.

I am struck by the parallels to so many churches today - people on the 'inside' want to hush anyone who is squawking about Jesus, they are embarrassed by it. But the one who has suffered is willing to cry out, and then cannot be turned away...

Gordon Lathrop offers a fascinating reading of this story in the first chapter of his book, "Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology." He reads this story of the son of Timaeus as a direct response to Plato's Timaeus - a critique of Platonic cosmology and of the inadequacy of closed worldviews in general. He also connects Mark's Timaeus, who cast off his cloak, to the young man following Jesus, who runs away naked from Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52), and the young man dressed in white in the empty tomb (Mark 16:5-7). Lathrop believes the blind man who is healed follows Jesus, being baptized into his death, and witnessing his resurrection as one clothed like the newly baptized.

hmm.....I wonder if the tossing off of the cloak is signifcant in that he is giving up his possessions, which the rich man was unable to do a few stories back so he does go. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, doesn't go, he follows. And, in a way, he enters the kingdom by doing so, in that he is made whole....

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This blog is a weekly translation of a text from the Revised Common Lectionary.It is my rough translation in bold with some initial comments in blue, all of which are subject to change as we journey together. That's why I welcome your comments.